Reviews of Contre Bombarde 32

I mostly agree with ClaireV’s review below! There is a nice old churchy feel to this with plenty of levels throughout its span. If I really concentrate, I feel like I can pick up on every note in the pyramid! An unappreciated hidden gem IMO

Burnt amber, elemi and frankincense. Oddly goumand for an incense. It smelt like burnt caramel and chicken stock cubes for a while, with an odd celery salt note that might be from the juniper. It isn't unpleasant, just smells too much like my kitchen cupboard for me to want to wear it.

Of the SAUF trio, Contre Bombarde 32 is the clear standout and my personal favorite. I see this fragrance as an improvement over LAVS, which although soaring and celestial, was too soapy and cold for my taste. It also had a hollowed-out feel to it that made it slightly depressing to wear.

Contre Bombarde 32, a name that just trips off the tongue, takes the beautiful incense from LAVS and layers it with an immense, sugared amber with burned sugar edges and sweet, dirty old church pew wood, giving it a far more satisfying, chewy texture that fills the mouth.

The opening is quite bitter and green, zinging with unburned, lemony elemi resin, bitter orange, and a brusque, sourish cedar, but quickly it becomes creamy with amber, sugar, and resin-rubbed woods. Think LAVS crossed with Amber Absolute crossed with the unctuous gourmandise of Rosarium by Angela Ciampagna and you can begin to imagine what a toothsome experience this is.